WARNING:
This is a long post with no pictures...
and really, I don't know why I'm writing it, but here goes:
When I was a newlywed,
Peter & I owned a 1/4 acre lot in the heart of Stratford, CT.
a small town, and an even smaller parcel of 'land' for us ~
but it was ours, nonetheless.
I was working full-time in the Dental Profession,
and usually had wednesdays, saturdays & sundays off.
Saturdays was spent doing yardwork,
which contisted of cutting the grass with a push mower.
(not a big yard, remember?) then, sweeping the driveway.
that's it. 20 minutes later and it was
fini'....
because of the push mower,
I was in tip-top shape,
tall and sleek with muscular arms and a killer tan!
When we became pregnant with Hannah, I could no longer use the push mower,
so we purchased our first-ever electric mower.
{{I was skeered to death I'd run over the cord and electrocute myself...}}
I used that mower for years, before we moved to Guilford, CT,
...where we then had 4 acres of property.
a HUGE difference in the size of our lawn, and of course,
now the cord wasn't long enough on the old electric mower
~ LOL!!!
so we purchased a gas-powered mower.
{{I was skeered to death I'd be blown to smithereens
and ruined my right rotor-cuff pulling the start-cord..}}
I would start first in the front yard and make my way onto the back...
neat, straight lines of alternating swaths that would rival any golf course green...
ah, yes...I was a professional.
my pride in my lawn overtook my common sense and I would find myself cutting it 2 times a week, needing that 'make-your-neighbors-green-with-envy' lawn...
and they were.
The neighborhood husbands would make remarks about MY lawn to their wives,
and I would get punished for it....
like...
not being invited to the next Princess House Party.
(oh how tragic.)
So I gradually had to wean myself from the OCD that had overtaken me.
I had to let that lawn grow....
Little-by-little, my senses regained and I could face the wives at the school bus-stop again.
but I was no longer a friend of the husbands....
...I was shunned at picnics at snickered at behind cold cans of Bud Lite.
(oh well)
Skipping ahead to the present,
being here in VA and owning about 85 acres
(with 6 of it needing lawn-care of some-sort)
I have lessened my compulsion to cutting the grass
....every week whether it needs it or not.
Of course, we needed and purchased our first-ever ride-on mower
{{I was skeered to death I'd hit a bump, fall off and cut off my own legs}}
but I challenged myself to learn to drive it.
and I did.
the first time I was to cut the grass,
I whizzed around the yard like Mrs. Pac-man on LSD...
No control. No rhyme or reason.
my lawn looked like some maniacal-maze out of Stephen King's 'The Shining'.
I hit every rock, stick and stone that I thought i picked up...
I worried endlessly that I would 'shoot' someone
(dog, sheep,...chicken)
with something i ran over,
so I spent more time picking through the grass than I did cutting it....
(ah yes, another obsession hits.)
it takes me about 2 hours to cut all of my grass here at the farm.
I don't go to the extreme anymore, (lessons learned...)
my lawn now looks perfect to me, no matter what it may look like to others.
it has dandelions, clover and buttercups growing happily in it.
~ the edges are long and uneven and I love it.
the time spent on my mower helps me to think, unwind and dream...
2 hours to myself, smelling the sweet-grass
...and figuring up new ideas for blog posts.
as of late, the weather hasn't permitted me to cut my grass at all.
it has been too muggy, too hot, too sunny, too wet...
....oh who am I kidding?
I'll cut grass in 6 inches of snow!!!
Hoping you all have a beautiful day,
get outside, get some sun (or rain, or humidity) but get some fresh air...
Blessings from the Farm,
Lori
This is Suzy, my cohort and shadow.
